Aliens: The Complex
by Colonel Milst Hisan
Summary: <html><head></head>Xenomorphs: Fascinating to Weyland-Yutani Corporation, and security risk for the United States and the Interstellar Commerce Commission. But when a joint research operation goes amiss, Cpl. Matthews and the USCMC are pulled into the fray.</html>


**Introduction**

Corporal Richard Matthews clung to his pulse rifle as the bullets whizzed past him in the narrow hallway. He took cover behind a wall, and just to his left was a 90 degree turn down another corridor, which happened to have three very pissed off mercenaries with pulse rifles firing madly down the corridor in a vain attempt to frighten the battle hardened Colonial Marines. Matthews turned to his right to see his best friend, Private First Class Jackson Feldman, who carried an M56 Smart Gun.

"They're awful trigger happy, aint they?" Commented Rick to his friend, shouting to be heard over the ruckus.

"You're telling me! It's giving me a headache!" Jack replied with a look of irritation upon his face.

"Well then, why don't we quiet them down a bit, eh?" Said Rick, who then picked up his motion tracker and read the positions of the three men firing on them. "We have one at 10, 11, and 1 O'clock." He called, and Jack nodded in reply. "I'll get 'em down, you smoke 'em." Called Rick once more, once again receiving a nod in reply. Jack reached up and activated his eye piece which slid into place, and the robotic arm connecting the Smart Gun to the vest its user wore came to life. Jack stepped forward and prepared to round the corner.

Once his friend was in position, Rick smirked and gave his friend a wink, then held his pulse rifle around the corner and pulled the trigger. The weapon roared to life, and began vibrating violently in his hands. He waved the rifle up and down, side to side, until the incoming weapons fire began to subside as the mercenaries took cover from the hail of explosive tipped bullets now flying at them. "GO!" Rick shouted, and Jack charged around the corner.

Jack held his weapon at waist level, just gripping it just enough to keep it from falling out of his grasp. The targeting computer instantly recognized three heat/motion signatures that didn't have Identify Friend/Foe tags, and the robotic stabilizing arm automatically guided the Smart Gun so it was aimed at dead center of mass on the closest target. Jack pushed on the red 'fire' switch on his fore grip and felt the weapon jump in his hands. The mercenary who had the misfortune of being targeted first was disemboweled by the hail of fire, and his body fell limply to the ground. The Smart Gun almost instantly selected its next victim, and Jack used the weapon to shred the man's chest. There was barely enough time for the third man to realize what had happened before he too was tossed to the ground by the hail of gun fire. "Clear ahead, move up!" Called Jack.

Rick, who had watched the expert smart gunner from the side, poked his rife around the side of the wall and aimed, double checking his partners call, then rounded the corner in a sprint with his rifle raised. He crouched by a fallen barrel using it as cover, then swept the hall visually once more. Then he proceeded to raise his motion tracker be absolutely certain that nobody was moving on their position. Finally satisfied with the situation, Rick stood to inspect the bodies of the fallen mercs. His eyes widened slightly as he gazed at the torn bodies and blood splattered on the floor and wall. "Whoo, buddy, you tore these guys a new one…literally." He called to Jack, who was approaching with his smart gun raised toward the ceiling.

"Yeah man, how many times have I told you to trade out that little pulse rifle for one of these babies?" Said Jack as he lightly kissed the fire switch on the weapons fore grip.

"Just you watch man, that thing's gonna be the death of you. Then I'll come along with my 'little pulse rifle' and pull your ass outta the fire. Just you wait." Retorted Rick playfully.

"You've gotta be…" Began Jack, but he was cut off by radio chatter from the rest of their squad.

"Matthews, Feldman, this is Sergeant Anders, you hear me?" Came the voice of their Sergeant through the two men's radios. There was a lot of gunfire coming over the comm. in the background.

"Yes sir, we're here." Replied Rick.

"Good, 'cause the rest of us are pinned down in the main courtyard. Whenever you ladies are done with your picnic, we could use a little flanking fire from the rear second story! You better hurry your asses off." Came the authoritative voice of Sergeant Nate Anders.

Rick glanced over to his friend and said, "Well, you heard the man. Let's get going. You take point." He said, suddenly serious and taking his command role by the reigns. Jack took the front and began moving through the colony complex while Rick followed, scanning with his motion tracker to ensure that they weren't being followed or ambushed. The colony itself was a simple mining colony that had been set up by the Interstellar Commerce Commission (ICC). It was a fairly run of the mill colony, set up like a large village, and had a population of about 300. Recently, however, a group of mercenaries had landed, taken hostages, and were in the process of plundering equipment and minerals. Ricks squad had been the closest to the planet at the time, so naturally they had drawn the shortest straw and were clearing the colony, building by building.

After a short, brisk walk through the complex corridors, they climbed a set of stairs to get to the second floor of the Administration building. They could hear the racket of gunfire once more, and they approached a set of windows that looked out over the courtyard below. There were a few trees and bushes scattered about, and the Marine squad below was using decorative cement walls as cover, while at least 10 mercenaries hammered them with pulse rifle fire. "Alright, let's take care of these guys. We'll shoot out the windows and pick 'em off on three. One." He said, and shouldered his pulse rifle, while Jack lowered the muzzle of his smart gun. "Two. Three!" He shouted the last number, and squeezed the trigger of his rifle.

The weapon kicked against his shoulder and made his accuracy suffer as he aimed down the sight groove on his weapon. None the less, he saw one of the mercenaries go down, and he quickly readjusted his aim to take out another one. Squeezing off a shorter burst this time, he once again saw a mercenary fall to the ground. Jack's smart gun came to life, and gunned down two more enemies quickly. Taking advantage of the distraction, the marine squad in the court yard rose from cover, and the sound of gun fire exploded from the now established firing line, shredding the remaining mercenaries. The gunfire silenced, and smoke filled the air. Sergeant Anders turned and shouted up at the two men on the second story, "It's about damn time you two showed up!"

"Yeah, I don't have time to waist on you two goofin' around!" Chirped in Private Fitch, the squads own cut up. "I swear, I could have caught a ship home, screwed both of your girlfriends, and been back before you two got here!"

"Shut the hell up Private." Sgt. Anders said harshly, but even though he was at a distance Rick thought he could see a small smile on the Sarge's face. "Nixon, take Johnson and Allen with you and scout ahead. Matthews and Feldman, get back down here on the double."

"Yes Sir!" Called Rick, but as he turned he felt a sharp pain pierce through his stomach, and he dropped to the metal floor. He heard the echo of a gunshot, and knew that he must have been tagged from a distance. He was barely able to raise his head up enough to see a hole punched clean through his stomach armor, with blood beginning to gush out of it. His head fell back and landed on the harsh floor grating, and his vision began to blur. He saw Jack crouching over him. He had just taken off his smart gun vest and had tossed it aside, and was in the process of taking off Ricks armor to treat the wound.

"Hang on buddy, help's comin'. Just stay focused. Don't forget, Marines are not allowed to die without permission." These were the words that Rick heard, as he nodded off into the realm of unconsciousness.


End file.
